


I've got a heavy little secret

by findyourwayhome



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-20
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-06-03 10:29:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6607402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/findyourwayhome/pseuds/findyourwayhome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sehun, Lu Han and cuddly animals. What's there not to love? Or: Sehun and Lu Han birthday celebration fic! Featuring Vivi and Lu Han's cats.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I've got a heavy little secret

**Author's Note:**

> I had meant for this to be an offering of meaningless fluff for 16 April, a.k.a. selu day, but I procrastinated and got delayed and it grew from "just a few hundred words" to this longer-than-expected child. But just in time for Lu Han's birthday! Happy birthday, my two loves! Sparked by [this edit](https://twitter.com/Selushades/status/719557700833529856) from @selushades. I hope she doesn't mind me linking to it.

Sehun jogs along the pathway, narrowly avoiding cyclists and brisk-walking ahjummas, one hand holding his cap to his head as he bends to look under bushes for any hint of little white fluffy ear or tiny wagging tail.

One moment Vivi had been dancing around in front of him with her ball in her mouth, begging him to play fetch with her, and the next she had darted off towards the path and around the corner out of sight.

She’s never done this before and he’s trying very hard not to panic. It’s just that she’s so small and so tiny and she’s never gone around on her own before and he really shouldn’t have taken her off her leash but she looked so woeful and how will he ever forgive himself if she gets stepped on or kidnapped or— Okay, too late. He’s panicking.

He rounds another corner and catches sight of Vivi sitting obediently next to a tree and facing a man who’s yelling, “PIG! You had better listen to me right now or you’re going to regret it! I said, RIGHT NOW!”

His initial relief turns to anger and Sehun charges up to them and snatches Vivi up in his arms before facing the guy screaming verbal abuse at his dog, ready to execute swift justice on this animal abuser.

“How dare you shout at—” is all Sehun manages to get out when he realises that said man isn’t even looking at him but up at something in the tree, and a leash dangles from his hand with an empty harness hanging, limp, at its end.

He looks up and sees a pair of big yellow eyes staring back at him through the leaves. Peering harder, he finds that the pair of eyes belongs to a rather round blue-grey cat crouched on a branch.

Sehun turns back and is about to offer a stiff apology when the man finally stops looking up at the tree to face Sehun and anything that he was about to say dies lamely in his throat because the most gorgeous specimen of all mankind that Oh Sehun, just freshly turned 23, third year theatre studies student at Korea National University of Arts and proud owner of one dog, has ever set his eyes on is standing in front of him.

In Odong Neighbourhood Park. In a tank top that reveals way too much collarbone, straight smooth shoulders and toned biceps than is good for Sehun’s health.

And he’s just yelled at him.

Sehun wants to crawl under a rock and die. Or maybe grab the man in front of him and introduce himself and ask him if he’s seeing anyone right now. He has to confess that the second option looks rather more attractive.

Thankfully, for the sake of any future relationship he might hope to have with Most Gorgeous Specimen of All Mankind (Sehun is just going to call him MGSAM in his head), the cat decides at that moment to stand and let out a plaintive yowl.

MGSAM immediately turns his attention back to the cat and says, frustrated, “well, I can’t do anything about getting you down because I can’t reach you, so you’re just going to have to try getting down on your own, Pig.”

Oh. The cat’s name is Pig. Right. So he was not insulting Vivi.

Sehun clears his throat, awkward. “Uh,” he says, “I could try to help you get him down from the tree? I mean, he’s not that high up and I’m a little taller than you so…”

MGSAM’s face lights up.

“Oh! Would you? That would be AMAZING,” he says. “Pig is the sweetest cat, he won’t hurt you at all. He’s just a bit of a loser up in trees but insists on getting away from me and climbing them anyway.”

Sehun eyes the cat in the tree a little doubtfully. He’s not sure how sweet it can be. It sharpens its claws on the tree bark and puffs up his fur while hissing as Sehun draws closer and reaches out for him.

He’s just tall enough to reach for Pig but when he tries to lift him off the tree branch, the ridiculous cat digs his claws in and refuses to let go.

He hears a muttered, “oh dear,” behind him, and somehow as Pig’s owner tries to stand on tiptoes to dislodge his claws from the tree, Sehun gets caught up in his legs and they all tumble down in a heap on the grass.

Pig is still in his hands and he’s scratching and meowling like he’s being murdered and Sehun lets go of him with alacrity. He zips off to jump onto a stone bench a few metres away and starts cleaning his face like he hasn’t just caused a huge fuss and made Sehun fall on top of his owner—

Wait. _HOLD UP._

Sehun looks down cautiously and finds himself sitting on someone’s long sweatpants-clad legs and judging by how much leg is stretched out in front of him, his ass is probably smack right on top of said person’s crotch.

He feels himself flushing hot from his hairline to his neck. He scrambles up immediately and mumbles incoherent apologies as he helps the guy up from the ground and starts brushing the grass off his ass.

 _Stop it, Sehun!_ He tells himself. _You’re just making it even more awkward._

Sehun gets a brilliant smile in response for his efforts, however, and a hand is stuck out as the guy introduces himself.

“That’s alright, no harm done! And you managed to get Pig down, thank you so much! I’m Lu Han, by the way,” he says.

“Uh,” Sehun says intelligently. “Sehun.”

Lu Han beams again and grabs his hand to shake enthusiastically. That’s when he realises that Sehun’s forearms are covered with long red scratches, the skin around the welts starting to puff up.

“Oh no,” he says. “Wait, hang on, let me just get this terrible cat of mine into his harness and let me take a look at those.”

Sehun remembers Vivi with a start at the mention of Lu Han’s pet and finds her at his feet, looking up at him inquiringly. He clips her leash onto her collar and stares after Lu Han.

The morning sun just happens to shine through the trees behind Lu Han as he scolds his cat and the sunlight catches on his bangs and reflects off his shoulders, making him glow like an angel.

Sehun shakes his head. The fall must have made him delusional.

But when Lu Han comes bounding up to him with a sulky cat cradled in his arms and he’s still glowing, Sehun starts to worry about his sanity.

“Sehun, right?” Lu Han asks. “Come on, there’s a water fountain over there and we can wash off these scratches.”

Sehun lets himself Lu Han lead him away by the hand to get the scratches cleaned and the whole time he’s so shocked that this beautiful being is holding his hand and tenderly washing his wounds that he isn’t able to say much more than, “don’t worry about it” and “it’s fine, I’m really okay.”

When he’s done, Lu Han pats Sehun’s arms dry and says, “alright. I really have to go or I’m going to be late, but you need to let me have your number so I can take you out for coffee to thank you for saving Pig.”

Lu Han pulls out his phone, unlocks it and passes it to Sehun, smiling up expectantly at him. Once Sehun is done putting in his number, Lu Han gives him a missed call and says, “there we go. Now we know how to contact each other.”

“Uh, yeah, it’s been really great,” Sehun says, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Lu Han kneels to give Vivi a kiss on her head and then he’s jogging off with Pig propped up on his shoulder, staring balefully at Sehun as they get further and further away.

“Bye,” Sehun calls out, but Lu Han is already out of earshot.

Sehun shakes his head at himself. Smooth, real smooth.

 

:::

 

Lu Han asks him out a few days later for coffee at a cafe near the park and Sehun is determined to leave a better impression. He spends two hours getting ready and choosing an outfit, and even FaceTimes Jongin to ask for his input.

It’s pet-friendly, so Lu Han tells him to bring along Vivi and when Sehun arrives, Lu Han is already at a table outside, with Pig sitting on a chair next to him. There’s also a bag on Lu Han’s lap, and the head of a small orange cat is peeking out at him. Lu Han waves in greeting and introduces the unknown cat.

“This is Ooh Ooh, I hope you don’t mind me bringing him along too. He looked sad all alone at home but he’s still too small for a harness.”

Vivi goes crazy trying to make friends and immediately both cats bristle up and start making hissing noises. Lu Han quickly pops the orange cat back into the bag and zips him up, while telling Pig firmly, “You’re not allowed to come to a cafe again unless you behave.”

Surprisingly, both cats immediately settle down. Sehun is impressed. He looks down at Vivi who is still running around in circles and getting her leash twisted up around his legs and sighs. So much for looking good in front of Lu Han.

Lu Han laughs up at him, his eyes crinkling at the corners and his long, long lashes fanning out against his cheekbones. Sehun sighs again for a different reason.

Lu Han mistakes the source of his distress and pats his hand, saying, “there, there. It’s okay. They’ll get along eventually. Now, what do you want to drink?”

Sehun blinks in surprise at Lu Han’s easy prediction about a future together already.

It’s actually really nice, and once all the animals have settled down, Sehun finds that Lu Han is hilarious and interesting and so easy to talk to.

He moved to Seoul from Beijing when he was 12 after his dad got transferred for work, and he’s always wanted to be a dancer, but his parents didn’t think it was practical. Instead, he obtained a liberal arts degree from Yonsei (not very much more practical, in his parents’ eyes) and now he’s a junior writer at a high society magazine, specialising in watches. The hours are good, but honestly, having two cats is not really cool enough for that crowd, Lu Han jokes. In fact, his cats have no proper names so he just calls them all sorts of things but the ones that stuck the most were Pig and Ooh Ooh.

“But how do you even get them to listen to you like that then?” Sehun asks.

“It’s not always like this,” Lu Han says sadly. “You should come over some time and see my sofa. It’s barely recognisable anymore, now it’s just a giant scratching board to them.”

Sehun chokes on his macchiato. “Of course,” he squeaks out, between coughs. “I would love to come over.”

Lu Han gets up in concern and starts patting him on the back. His touch is warm and comforting and Sehun wants to lean up into him like how a cat would arch up against someone it loves but Vivi chooses that moment to jump onto his lap to see what the fuss is all about and the moment is ruined.

Sehun’s life is so hard.

 

:::

 

Meeting up becomes a part of their everyday life. Sehun would meet Lu Han at the park on Saturday mornings with Vivi. Sometimes, Lu Han brings Pig or Ooh Ooh along, other times he comes on his own. Some evenings, Sehun pops over to Lu Han’s place with dinner and they catch a movie together on the giant scratching board, both cats sprawled out between them.

People who say that dogs are the most loyal pets are all wrong, because Vivi takes to Lu Han almost immediately, even preferring him over Sehun to ask to play fetch or roll around in the grass with.

When that happens, Sehun would sit a distance away and pretend to sulk until both Vivi and Lu Han come running over and bowl into him so they’re a tangle of laughing happy humans and dog.

It takes him longer to get Pig or Ooh Ooh to warm up to him, but one day he falls asleep on the sofa while Lu Han is showering, and Lu Han manages to snap a photo of Pig curled up in Sehun’s lap and Ooh Ooh tucked against his side before the shutter sound wakes them all.

Sehun loves hanging out with Lu Han and Vivi and the cats. It’s almost like having another family and he can’t help but wonder what Lu Han thinks of them, but he’s also too scared to change the status quo. Sometimes, he worries that Lu Han loves Vivi more than him and maybe he’s just putting up with Sehun because he comes with Vivi as a package.

Jongin rolls his eyes when Sehun tells him his concerns and just says, “Sehun. This is the guy who invited you over to his place at your second meeting. I’m pretty sure he’s into you more than you think.”

Yet, Sehun still doesn’t do anything until one evening, he’s playing with Pig and saying, “who’s the cutest, fattest cat in the world” when Lu Han overhears and protests.

“He is not fat!”

“Is too. Look at that tummy,” Sehun counters, tickling it.

“Is not! It’s just because he’s lying on his back so the angle isn’t great.” Lu Han insists.

“Lu Han, just because you can’t admit you snack as often as you feed Pig treats doesn’t mean he isn’t actually—”

Sehun doesn’t get to finish his sentence because Lu Han has launched himself at Sehun and is ruthlessly tickling him as he yells, “Oh Sehun, you little brat. Are you saying I’m fat? You take that back immediately!”

Needless to say, Ooh Ooh and Pig retreat to their cat tree far, far away from these crazy humans.

Somehow, Sehun manages to flip them over and he finds himself pushing down a dishevelled Lu Han, breathing hard and staring up at him with a little smile playing on his lips.

Without thinking, Sehun bends and kisses him. He draws back almost immediately, fully expecting Lu Han to back away, but instead, Lu Han wraps his arms around his neck and his legs around Sehun’s waist and pulls him down for some very belated but still very hot making out.

A little while later, Sehun sits up and says, hesitant, “Um, Lu Han, would you like to date?”

Lu Han laughs. “Finally! I thought you’d never ask! After all, you did sweep me off my feet when we first met, literally.”

Sehun laughs along at the memory and can’t resist leaning down to kiss Lu Han again.

Finally deeming it safe to emerge from their hiding places, the cats choose that moment to jump back onto the sofa and squeeze themselves between Sehun and Lu Han.

Lu Han groans and drops his forehead onto Sehun’s shoulder.

“We need to go out sometime,” he says, muffled, into Sehun’s shirt. “Just you and me, no dogs, no cats.”

Sehun hums in agreement and cuddles Lu Han together with an armful of cat. Life is so great.

 

_fin._

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from Wilhelm Tell Me's "Let Me Take You Away". This is the first thing I've completed in like two years (!!!) and I no longer have a beta. Please excuse any mistakes and let me know if I made any typos/SPAGs. True story: I am always like this with my cat the way Lu Han is with Pig (in this fic, I mean). Lu Han said in an interview that his two cats don't actually have proper names, but he calls them different things and it seems like Zhu (猪, which means "pig" in Mandarin) is the most common name for his Russian blue cat, while his newer orange kitty is called Ooh Ooh.
> 
> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated! ♥


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